Nicholas Hoult has followed in the footsteps of actors such as Gene Hackman, Michael Rosenbaum, and Jesse Eisenberg by taking on the role of Lex Luthor in James Gunn’s Superman. The iconic supervillain is slated to play a big part in the DCU. In fact, he’s already set to return for Man of Tomorrow, and Hoult recently told GQ that he’s excited to subvert some expectations.
“I just spoke to [James Gunn] a week or two ago about the sequel and his idea for that,” he said. “So I’m really excited to play that character again because I feel like there’s a lot to explore with him and expectations to subvert. It’s going to be exciting to step back into those shoes again.“
Hoult continued, “I haven’t read [the script] yet, but hopefully will soon, so I can’t say anything more than that. But just upon playing the character for the first time in that story, through my research and prep, I feel like there’s a lot more for me to explore and for us to explore. So I’m excited that we are getting the chance to go back and do that.“
Man of Tomorrow will start production in April 2026, and Warner Bros. have already scheduled the sequel for a July 9, 2027 release. While speaking on the Howard Stern Show last month, Gunn dropped a few story details. “It’s a story about Lex Luthor and Superman having to work together to a certain degree against a much, much bigger threat,” he said. “It’s more complicated than that but. It’s as much a Lex movie as it is a Superman movie. I relate to the character of Lex, sadly. I really wanted to create something extraordinary with the two of them. I just love the script so much.“
Many fans are speculating that this “much bigger threat” will be Brainiac, a possibility that Gunn may have even hinted at with the reveal of the script’s title page.
The next DCU project to be released in theaters will be Supergirl, which stars Milly Alcock (House of the Dragon) as Kara Zor-El, alongside Eve Ridley (3 Body Problem) as Ruthye, Matthias Schoenaerts (Rust and Bone) as Krem of the Yellow Hill, David Krumholtz (Oppenheimer) as Zor-El, Emily Beecham (1899) as Alura, and Jason Momoa as Lobo, a role he has longed to play for years. The film will hit theaters on June 26, 2026.